Facebook is a powerful tool! Millions of people are viewing and engaging on it every day! The reach of a single post can be endless. Beth Haun just recently learned how powerful Facebook really is. When her mother was in a very serious car accident and needed blood, Beth turned to Facebook asking her friends and family to donate blood to help. Marsh Regional Blood Center reported that 83 total donors showed up and rolled up their sleeves to help Beth’s mom.

With her mother’s blood type being AB-, a rare blood type, Beth, her dad, and her brother were not compatible donors (they all have a positive blood type). She then turned to Facebook and asked those with any negative blood type to donate. She said almost immediately people responded to her post and asked where they could donate.

“That day we had about 40 donors come out, so we were overwhelmed and had to ask for support staff to come over from Kingsport and… the staff actually stayed about two hours after closing to get everybody in the door,” Adam Ellsworth, donor recruiter for Marsh, said. “Every single person who came in that day said ‘I’m here for Ruth. What do I need to do?’ So they were all new donors. Very few of them were past donors with Marsh.”

Beth said there have been a few times since her mother’s accident that she wasn’t sure she was going to make it, but all the support has really kept her going.

“You just wouldn’t believe people, what’s in their hearts. It’s wonderful,” she said. “There’s no way I can repay people for this. There’s nothing in this world I can do to repay them for saving my mom’s life… which is what they’ve done (by) donating their blood.”